Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-10-01
EXAMINE THE PLUMBING
The Dangers and Fatal Results Lurking
in Defective Drain-pipes.

those who buy or rent new houses in
this city should not fail to have the plumb
ing in them thoroughly examined by compe-
tent inspectors. Such an examination is
required, not because the Health Depart
ment and its agents are guilty of neglect.
but for the reason that the department is
not able with the force at its disposal to
subject all of the new plumbing in the city
to inspection. Citizens must do something
for themselves, and it is the work of the
department in this field that shows what
they should do.
The Sanitary Engineer of the 30th ult
publishes the history of several recent
prosecutions by the Health Department
in which plumbers were defendants. On
June 10th, in the Court of Special Sessions
one Halpin, plumber doing business on
Third avenue, was prosecuted for having
violated the plumbing and sanitary laws
lie pleaded guilty and was fined 5000. The
work in question had been done in four
private houses of special design in Ninety
seventh street, near Eighth avenue. The
inspectors discovered that the cellar drain
had not been trapped properly, that the
freshair inlets were clogged, that the drain
had fall of only three inches for the
lenghth Of the house, that the hubs were
open or badly calked, and that the work
was bad in other respects. 1t should be
borne in mind that these were costly
houses, in which a buyer could not expect
to find bad plumbing. In another ease
the same plumber was fined $3.50 The
building was a tenement-house designed
for eleven families, and situated on One
Hundred and First street, near Ninth
avenue. The quality of the plumbing can
be shown by the fact that the house drain
had not been carried to the sewer in
the street. There was a pipe from the
sewer to the rear wall, and the house drain
extended to the front wall of the house.
but no excavation had been made in the
space between these walls. Here was a
gap eight feet long, where the sewage was
discharged into the soil Joints through
out the house were open, and dummy"
vents had been constructed, so as to deceive
anyone who should look at them When
the discovery was made there were already
four families in the house. But for the
vigilance of the department eleven fami-
lies would soon have been exposed to con-
ditions that breed disease. The gap in the
house drain was worthy of Buddensiek.
The plumber would have been more
severely punished if he had not asserted
that the work had been done under the
direction of his partner, who died before
the job was uncovered.
The Sanitary Engineer describes the
work of the two other plumbers who have
recently been arrested. In one case the
bad plu mbing was in twelve houses on the
west side Of Ninth avenue, above One
Hundred and Fifth street. In the other
the defendant is held on account of work
done in twelve houses on Madison avenue
! near One Hundred and Twentieth street
three or four years ago. He was at that
| time arrested and fined. He promised to
make the changes that were required,
asserting that his workmen had deceived
him; but an inspector recently discovered
that he had not kept his word
Something more than fine is required
for the punishment of such men. Many a
plumber who has deliberately done such
work as was exposed in these cases is really
guilty of mauslaughter-N y. Times.